re: 2018 Football Recruiting Thread -- Final OP Update Edition

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Touted 2019 quarterback Bo Nix of Pinson Valley (Ala.) experienced something new last week when he camped at Auburn.

“It was really neat — I got to go one-on-one with (Auburn offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey),” Nix said. “That was my first time working one-on-one with a coach like that.”

Nix, the son of former Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix (also his coach), is a top Tigers target. He already has visited Auburn multiple times this year.

But working with Lindsey gave him a new perspective because it gave him a feel what his coaching style is like.

“I felt extremely comfortable,” Nix said. “Just the whole situation, it was comfortable. I was throwing with my receivers so I didn’t have to work on the timing with the receivers. It was already there. (Lindsey) watched me the whole time. A lot of it was the same stuff (his dad has taught him). There were a couple of things with football that I hadn’t necessarily learned from my dad. But most of it was similar. Most of the drills I've done before.”

What pointers did Lindsey offer?

“You can always sharpen up your feet and your posture and that kind of stuff,” Nix said. “You can always get better at something. He kept telling me that. He told me to keep working and to get better at every aspect.”

According to Nix, he already has gotten to know Auburn’s first-year coordinator well.

“I have a really good relationship with him,” Nix said. “Since he’s been hired, we’ve gotten to know each other a lot more. We knew each other just a little bit before. Since he’s been hired, I’ve gotten to know him even more.”

Nix visited Clemson on Wednesday. He might visit FSU in July.

He said he expects to be back in Auburn twice in July — once for a quarterback camp and again for a 7-on-7 camp.

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AUBURN, Ala. — Tyneil Hopper‘s camp day at Auburn resulted in positive reviews for both sides.

The Auburn tight end target from Roswell (Ga.) made it to the Plains for the high school camp on Thursday. It gave him another opportunity to check out the campus he’s become quite familiar with this spring. It also allowed Tigers coaches a front-and-center look at one of their top tight end options remaining in the 2018 class.

Hopper’s camp day ended with some 1-on-1 time with Gus Malzahn.

“He said I ran some really good routes. He said he liked the way I shaked-and-baked some of those guys. He said that coach (Larry) Porter is really high on me,” Hopper said of Malzahn. “They really want me here, and they’re going to keep recruiting me. They still want to come see me play.”

Hopper spent most of his day doing small-group station work with Porter.

Porter was the big reason Hopper launched onto Auburn’s radar. The two have a close relationship dating back to Porter’s days at North Carolina. Porter played a big role in Hopper’s older brother signing with the Tar Heels. On Porter’s first day at Auburn, Hopper visited the Plains for the first time.

That relationship will be a big reason why the Tigers have a shot with Hopper. The tight end cherished the chances to spend player-coach time with Porter on Thursday.

“It was really cool. Knowing coach Porter coached running backs, him coaching tight ends, it looked like he’d been coaching tight ends for a long time. He taught me a lot of things today,” Hopper said. “It’s very important. I’m still looking around making sure I’m going to the right school. I really like Auburn. It’s a really great place. I’ll continue to look around to make sure I’m making the right decision.”

Hopper hasn’t gotten to the point of naming a leader, though he’s on the verge of releasing a top 7 or top 8 list by mid-July. He claims to not have any “standout schools,” but there’s no question the Tigers sit at or near the top of his wish list that also includes some of his other offers such as Louisville, North Carolina, Wake Forest and West Virginia.

He will visit North Carolina this weekend and West Virginia next week. The Tar Heels are believed to be Auburn’s biggest competition if the Tigers rev up their recruiting efforts on Hopper.

“Auburn’s high on my list,” Hopper said. “I like Auburn a lot.”

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Auburn's passing game is expanding, and when it comes to recruiting, the effects are likely to trickle down to the Tigers' approach with their 2018 class.

After signing two wide receivers back in February, Auburn will likely seek a bigger group at the position this cycle, with the team signing at least two but possibly as many as four receivers in 2018. Not only could it be a bigger crop of recruits at the position, but wide receivers coach Kodi Burns is confident it could be an impactful class.

"I think we're in a great spot right now," Burns said last month in Eufaula. "I think this will be a special class for us at receiver, as well as the whole 2018 class, to be honest. I think we're off to a good start right now, and I think this summer will be really big for us."

Auburn has just two senior receivers on its roster, Jason Smith and former quarterback John Franklin III, so there is an influx of youth at the position. Still, with eight underclassmen on scholarship at receiver -- including expected starters Darius Slayton, Nate Craig-Myers and Kyle Davis -- the Tigers will look to strengthen their depth at the position while trying to add more potential big-play threats to the roster.

"I expect a really big class this year," Burns said in March. "It's exciting for me because now you've got some separation, which we did a good job two years ago of signing probably the best class Auburn's ever had at receiver. We signed four guys who came in here and were big-time players. That's always a little bit of a struggle where guys see that the next year like, oh you just signed this class so why would I go to Auburn.

"Now we've created some separation a little bit and by signing three guys (including tight end Sal Cannella) that are good players, that are going to come in and add some depth and I think this year are going to be a big-time class for us, and I'm excited. I'm really excited."

Auburn currently has one receiver committed to its 2018 class: three-star Cordova prospect Kolbi Fuqua, who committed to the Tigers on A-Day. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Fuqua is listed as an athlete and could also play safety, but said he will start at receiver at Auburn.

Whether he remains on the offensive side of the ball could depend on how the Tigers fare with their other top receiving prospects. At the top of that list is the state's No. 1 recruit, five-star receiver Justyn Ross, who is from just down the road in Phenix City.

Ross is a 6-foot-4, 197-pounder who is considered the No. 5 receiver in the country and 25th-best player in the class of 2018. He was on campus earlier this month for Big Cat Weekend and brought his mother, Charay Franklin, who recently returned from a tour of active duty overseas with the National Guard. Auburn is considered the favorite for Ross, with Alabama, Clemson and Florida State among the other teams in a top 11 he released in late April.

The other top targets Auburn is pursuing at receiver this cycle are four-star prospects Matthew Hill, Jacob Copeland and Seth Williams, as well as three-star receiver Shedrick Jackson.

Hill is a 6-foot-2, 185-pounder out of Snellville, Ga., and Auburn is considered the favorite to land his commitment. He's rated as the No. 29 receiver in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Copeland is a 6-foot, 192-pound prospect out of Escambia High in Pensacola, Fla. He has Auburn among his top-five schools, though he briefly had Auburn and Florida as his top two, and the Gators appear to be the favorite in that race.

Williams is a 6-foot-3, 212-pounder from Paul W. Bryant in Cottondale. Auburn has been in hot pursuit of the nation's No. 28 receiver, though the Tigers will have to stave off nearby Alabama, as well as the likes of Maryland, Georgia, Ole Miss and Florida State.

Jackson, meanwhile, is one of the most likely to join this class. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder out of Hoover is the nephew of Auburn legend Bo Jackson, and he has Auburn in his top five. The Tigers are one of three SEC schools to make the cut, along with Missouri and Mississippi State, with Georgia Tech and Memphis rounding it out.

While those are Auburn's top priorities at receiver for the 2018 class, the Tigers are also pursuing four-star prospects Anthony Schwartz, Kearis Jackson and Camron Johnson. Schwartz, a South Florida native, is expected to choose Florida, while Jackson is also considering Georgia, Michigan and Ohio State. Tennessee is the favorite for Johnson.

Regardless of how it shakes out, it's clear that Auburn is making this class of receivers a priority under Burns and first-year offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey.

"We hired Coach Lindsey for a reason," Burns said. "We brought some RPOs. I think we threw for 400 yards in the first half of the spring game. You kind of see the direction we're going at Auburn as far as throwing the ball down the field. I think if you're a long receiver and you want to come in and play early, this is the place that you can do it.

"We've got the trigger man now -- Sean White, Jarrett Stidham -- we've got some guys coming in so I just think we're in a really good spot to throw the ball down the field."

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Coynis Miller of Jackson-Olin announced on Thursday he accepted an invitation to play in the 2017 Under Armour All-America Game.

Miller, a four-star-rated high school football player as a run stopper and short-yardage ballcarrier, marks the second time in as many seasons a Jackson-Olin standout earned a spot on the exclusive roster. T.D. Moultry earned the honor in early 2017.

Miller is entering his senior season at 6-feet-3 and more than 290 pounds, and has yet to figure out his college football plans. But he has plenty of options from Alabama and Auburn to Michigan and Oregon.

Miller finished his senior season with 14 solo tackles, 47 assists, 21 quarterback pressures, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup. He also moved to Wildcat quarterback in goal line situations, scoring 13 touchdowns.

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AMITE, La. — Ishmael Sopsher is quickly becoming a household name, not only in Louisiana but across the country.

The 5-star defensive lineman is the the top-ranked prospect in the state for 2019, as well as the No. 1 defensive tackle and No. 2 recruit overall in the class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

LSU jumped into the mix for Sopsher last October, a move made soon after Ed Orgeron replaced Les Miles as the Tigers’ head coach on an interim basis. Since taking over as the permanent coach, Orgeron has been able to lure Sopsher to campus a handful of times this spring, including a personal unofficial visit the weekend after “Boys From The Boot” and a return stop for the Tigers’ spring game in April.

Orgeron remains a key cog in Sopsher’s recruitment to LSU. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound defensive lineman made that clear earlier in the spring. However, the Tigers sit behind a handful of SEC rivals and other national powers in the race for Sopsher.

“Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, Auburn and Ole Miss,” Sopsher told SEC Country, when asked about his leading schools.

5-star Amite (La.) DL Ishmael Sopsher has named Alabama, Florida State and Auburn as some of his leading schools. He says he left LSU off the list because of some hiccups in communication. (Sam Spiegelman/SEC Country)
The absence of LSU was a head-scratcher, to say the least. Why didn’t the Tigers crack the top group of schools?

“Better communication,” he explained. “The communication has been good, but it’s been on and off. I think it could be better. We just need to start communicating better.”

While Orgeron is playing a role in Sopsher’s recruitment, offensive coordinator Matt Canada has been handed Tangipahoa Parish as his recruiting territory. Canada visited Amite (La.) High School to check on Sopsher and fellow 2019 5-star Devonta Lee during the NCAA’s Evaluation Period in May.

Canada’s message to Sopsher focused on his grades, which was one of the points emphasized to the 5-star lineman when he unofficially visited LSU earlier in the spring and also met with Orgeron.

“He’s a good dude,” Sopsher said of Canada. “He’s the offensive coordinator, but he seems cool to me. We talk about football and about academics, and he’s been telling me that academics come first. I’m a student-athlete first before football, because life after football, you’ll need your intelligence to move forward.”

While LSU trails a handful of other notable programs for Sopsher now, there are some positives. The fact that the elite in-state prospect has visited Baton Rouge twice this spring is encouraging for the Tigers’ chances. Now, it’s a matter of improving communication between Sopsher and Canada.

Consider Orgeron an integral component in this puzzle. Sopsher’s relationship with Orgeron dates back to the defensive lineman’s eighth-grade year. Orgeron used to recruit Tangipahoa Parish for the Tigers, and that longstanding bond has kept LSU alive in the race for the state’s No. 1 recruit.

“At the spring game, they were doing good. I liked how the defensive linemen get off the ball and how Coach O is working with them to get better,” said Sopsher. “I’ve been knowing Coach O since the eighth grade. I think LSU did a good job by naming him the head coach. He’s a good coach and he has a lot of experience, and I’ll be watching the defense [this season].”

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Selling him hard on playing OLB and playing early.

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We can't miss on...Andres Fox.

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One of the many reasons I hope we pass on Gatewood.

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